Century and Fujifilm double down on stem cell therapy deal

Century and Fujifilm have expanded a license agreement to develop and commercialize cell therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).  

This agreement aims to treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis. The financials were not disclosed. 

“This license will enable the development of cell therapies derived from iPSCs for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The partnership will bring immune cells derived from iPSCs to cell therapy for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” a spokesperson for Fujifilm told BioProcess Insider. 

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As per the agreement, Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics Inc. (FCDI), a developer and manufacturer of human iPSCs and iPSC-derived cells, will be eligible to receive certain development and regulatory milestone payments including royalties related to products developed in connection with the agreement. 

Clinical-stage biotech Century, which is developing iPSC-derived cell therapies in immuno-oncology, claims that iPSCs have the capability to replenish and differentiate into key cell types by using regeneration and immune modulation. 

According to Fujifilm, “through a simple blood draw, iPSCs are reprogrammed and expanded from small samples of adult donor blood cells. These cells, expanded in culture, can be differentiated into almost any cell type of the human body.” 

Versant Ventures-created company, Century Therapeutics, emerged from stealth mode in 2019 with an ambition to develop allogeneic or off-the-shelf immune cell therapies for cancer, with $250 million in financing commitments from Bayer, Versant, and Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, and initially collaborated with the latter in 2018 for iPSC derived cancer immuno-therapeutics.